Utah State Pounds BYU In Historic Win
Oct 6, 2018, 1:37 AM | Updated: Oct 9, 2018, 3:38 pm
The Utah State Aggies beach celebrates a touchdown during the Utah State versus BYU football game at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018. (Steve Griffin/Deseret News)
(Steve Griffin/Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah – The Utah State Aggies made a statement on Friday night as they knocked off rival BYU, 45-20 at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo for the “Old Wagon Wheel.”
Utah State Quarterback Impressive
Jordan Love had a brilliant performance, throwing for 165 yards on 18-of-28 passing. He threw a career high four touchdowns and added another touchdown on the ground.
Entering the Friday night showdown, Love racked up 1,070 yards through the air with five touchdowns and only three interceptions.
Picking up where the defense started, following an interception return for a touchdown, Love and the offense added two scores to give Utah State a 21-0 lead.
The second half was a special one for Love and the Aggies offense, scoring three touchdowns on their six drives, Including two passing and one rushing touchdown.
The sophomore from Bakersfield, California gave his thoughts on the win over the Cougars.
“It’s just a great feeling, it’s what we have been working for.”
Aggies Pounding The Football
As a team, Utah State rushed for 223 yards on 42 carries, led by running back Darwin Thompson with 109 yards. Gerold Bright added 61 yards on 14 carries, the Aggies averaged 5.3 yards per carry.
Jordan Love credits the offensive line for the dominant running attack.
“We just put it on the offensive line and they won the battle.”
The Utah State Aggies carry the Old Wagon Wheel to midfield after defeating the Cougars and retaining the wheel at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, Oct. 5, 2018. (Steve Griffin/Deseret News)
Defense Steals The Show
It wasn’t just Jordan Love and the offense playing well against the Cougars. The Defense started the route with an interception by linebacker Tipa Galeai, who took it for a 56 yard touchdown.
The Aggies kept BYU out of the end zone for six of their seven drives in the first half and four of their six drives in the second half. They forced three turnovers that include two interceptions and one fumble.
BYU’s running game was non-existent, rushing for only 39 yards. 25 of those yards came from quarterback Zach Wilson on the final drive. Cougar’s running back Lopini Katoa had eight carries for 24 yards.
BYU head Coach Kalani Sitake discusses the defense that his team had to face on Friday.
“Utah State had a good plan and a good scheme, defensively, they did good things up front,” he said.
Back-To-Back Wins Over BYU
The victory Friday night was the largest margin of victory since 1968, when USU beat BYU 34-8.
Utah State notched consecutive wins over BYU for the first time since 1974, beating BYU 40-24 in Logan last season.
Head Coach Matt Wells is really pleased with his team ending that drought.
“I don’t know how to sum it up,” Wells added. “That’s playing for the guys that have come before you and the kids that come after you, it’s something that our kids hang on to,” he said.
With “the old wagon wheel” going back to Logan, Utah State picked up their fourth straight win. Coach Wells was happy with the overall performance of his team.
“They made me look really good tonight,” he added. “We ran the ball when we wanted to run it and we stopped the run, I am really proud of our defense,” Wells said.
Utah State is now 4-1 overall on the season, returning to Mountain West Conference action on Saturday, October 13 when they host UNLV at 2 p.m.
